Recently there has been a wave of homophobic attacks in Spain.
In the latest case, the National Police is investigating a homophobic assault committed by eight hooded men in the centre of Madrid on a 20-year-old man. The attackers assaulted him in the doorway of his house, cut off his lip and carved the word “faggot” with a knife on his buttock.
In Madrid, the LGTBI collective is organising demonstrations with the slogan ‘They are killing us!’
In a town near Toledo, a young man was the victim of a homophobic attack on Saturday 4 September during the Velada festivities. The perpetrators began the beating with anti-gay insults.
This attack comes months after the brutal murder of Samuel in A Coruña by a group of youths who brutally beat him to death. The 13 people who murdered Samuel in the early hours of a Saturday morning did so, according to his friends, because of his sexual orientation.
This type of repugnant attack is unfortunately taking place all over Spain.
Luiz Jonas Santos, a 22-year-old Brazilian employee of a beach bar in Sanlúcar de Guadiana (Huelva), has denounced a colleague for an alleged homophobic attack in which he was punched and kicked several times, as well as having to hear expressions such as “faggot shit” and “you’re not a man”.
In Vitoria-Gasteiz, a father, Jorge, has reported on Twitter that several people have twice picked on his 12-year-old daughter for carrying a bag with the rainbow flag.
The incident took place in a local skate park. Jorge explains that the minor “came home scared to death”, after receiving comments such as “what a shitty bag, put LGTBI in the trash”.
On the first occasion, while she was being harassed, the girl left the skate park. Days later, the situation was repeated in the same place and by the same young people: “Not again with that bag”.
The young girl left the bag at home out of fear. However, her father decided to take her out into the street again, creating a movement that has spread throughout Vitoria. The neighbours, in solidarity, have donned the rainbow flag bag, to the point that these bags have sold out in some shops in the city.
“Many people are trying to get their hands on one of them as a sign of rejection of situations like the one the girl experienced. The rainbow flag bag is becoming a symbol against LGTBIphobia in the city”, said Jorge. Various groups are also mobilising on social networks to hold rallies in support of the girl.
The action of the girl’s father reveals the obvious solidarity of the vast majority of people and their rejection of homophobia. It also shows that we must remain vigilant and campaign massively against the ultra-right that gives the “ideological” arguments in favour of homophobia, sexism and racism.
In the last three months, the Observatory against LGTBIphobia in the Basque Country has detected 6 physical attacks against trans, lesbian and gay people. In addition, there have been 5 other acts of hatred, similar to the one suffered in the skate park. In total, 11 incidents have taken place in Amurrio, Gorbeialdea and Vitoria-Gasteiz.
Between 2013 and 2019, homophobic attacks have increased by 45%, according to the data collected by the Ministry of the Interior’s Crime Statistics Portal. There is still no data for 2020, but in the three previous years there has been an increase in aggressions mainly related to ideology, racism and xenophobia. The former doubled between 2014 and 2019. The latter grew by almost 20% during the same period. Offences related to discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity also increased in 2019 compared to 2018. The total of criminal and administrative offences rose from 259 to 283, almost 10% more.
According to the latest data from the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB), which brings together sexual diversity organisations from all over Spain, most of the aggressions committed in 2018 were verbal (31%), followed by harassment (27%) and physical aggression (17%). In 68% of cases, these were directed towards people aged between 19 and 35, something that can be explained by the fact that this is the age bracket that most reports these incidents, as is the case with gender (70% are gay men).
If we compare them with figures from other countries, it is likely that these crimes (hate crimes in general) are much more in reality than those officially reported, as these are often groups that are less likely to go to the authorities, as is the case for some nationalities. According to FELGBT, only one in 10 homophobic attacks is reported.
“What we are seeing is too much. There are more and more aggressions, we have gone back 10 years since certain (political) parties have had more presence in politics”, explains Begoña Gallego, president of the LGTBIPol police association and an officer in a police station in Madrid’s Centro district, where she has been seeing an increase in aggressions, both physical and verbal, for almost a year now. “Now they want to take away LGTBI rights and that encourages people to get angry and these things happen”.
This is a very important point to reflect upon. In 2005, Spain became the fourth country in the world, after the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada, to legalise same-sex marriage. On the tenth anniversary of the passing of the equality law, in 2015, El País posed the following questions:
“Ten years have passed, has Spain become a more egalitarian country, have others followed the Spanish example, and has the law restored freedom and dignity to a humiliated group, punished in Franco’s time with imprisonment?
Spain is now the country in the world where homosexuality is most accepted. Only 6 out of every 100 people believe it is immoral, according to a macro-survey in 40 countries carried out by the Pew Research Center in 2013. Some 55% think it is acceptable and 38% think it is not a moral issue.
The attitude of Spaniards in 2004 was somewhat less advanced. Although eight out of 10 surveyed by the CIS thought that being homosexual is as respectable as being heterosexual”.
Now, only six years later, we are in the midst of a wave of organised homophobic attacks. Why is this happening? As even the police officer quoted above acknowledges, there is a direct link between VOX’s homophobic rhetoric and the increase in violence. The PP plays the role of normalising the discourse. The PP mayor of Madrid stated that it was “an exaggeration” to link homophobic violence to VOX.
The lesson for the LGTBI community, young people, women and the entire working class is that as long as capitalism exists, the ruling class will seek to divide us.
We need to build a united movement capable of confronting and defeating capitalism and that includes challenging the backward prejudices that exist in society.
This is how divisions can be overcome and capitalist ideology decisively eliminated.
Socialist Alternative absolutely condemns the numerous homophobic attacks and gives our solidarity to the victims.
- We will continue to fight for unity to oppose all kinds of prejudice.
- No to discrimination on grounds of sexual identity or orientation, including in education and health. Promotion of health and affective-sexual education at all educational levels.
- For the determined and massive struggle of the working class against machismo, racism, LGTBI-phobia and all forms of oppression.
